ANDREW GILES MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CITIES AND URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
SHADOW MINISTER ASSISTING FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
MEMBER FOR SCULLIN
Scott Briggs' Pacific Blue Capital donated almost $90,000 to the Liberal Party, at the same time the Morrison Government is considering whether to award a tender to run Australia's visa system to Australian Visa Processing, a consortium being led by Mr Briggs.
Mr Briggs is a close friend of Scott Morrison and a former colleague of Immigration Minister David Coleman. Scott Morrison and David Coleman may have recused themselves from this process - but selling off Australia's visa system doesn't pass the pub test. Especially when one of the two bidders for the $1 billion tender is a significant donor.
Mr Briggs' Pacific Blue Capital previously donated $53,500 in four tranches to the Liberal National Party of Queensland and the NSW Liberal Party in 2017-18.
This is a terrible look - trust in the political system is already at an all-time low. The last thing Australia needs is our visa system being sold off to the highest bidder.
The Morrison Government has already hit a roadblock in its plan to privatise Australia's visa system. The Department of Home Affairs' own advice is that this privatisation requires legislative change - Labor and the Senate crossbench have all indicated opposition to the a private company running Australia's visa system.
The Morrison Government's visa privatisation plan has been heavily criticised, including by Tony Abbott's former Chief of Staff, Peta Credlin.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has warned that the Morrison Government's plan to privatise Australia's visa system could lead to another "robodebt' debacle.
The CPSU has said that a private operator will have "immense discretion" to determine who is issued a visa to come to Australia. Thousands of Australian jobs are also at risk.
A former senior Immigration Department executive also warned of "immense" risks from outsourcing of visa processing.
Visa outsourcing in the United Kingdom has prompted a strong backlash - with lawyers and MPs calling for an investigation into the private scheme that rips off migrants and allows big companies to reap millions.
Australians in Britain have experienced first-hand the UK's expensive and frustrating privatised visa processing system - some have warned the Australian government not to go down the same path.
Enough is enough. The Morrison Government must stop its plan to privatise Australia's visa system, immediately.